Half-Elf Swashbuckler 5
STR: 14 (13 + 1 at 4th Level)
DEX: 18 (16 + 2 Racial)
CON: 10
INT: 10
WIS: 12
CHA: 14
HP: 39 (5d10 + 0 + 5)
AC: 17
Flat-Footed: 13
Touch: 14
Favored Class Bonus: +1 HP (x5)
Traits: Blade of Mercy, Spirit Sense
Feats: Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Bastard Sword), Blind-Fight, Slashing Grace (Bastard Sword), Combat Reflexes, Equipment Trick (Heavy Blade Scabbard)
Gear: +1 Heartseeker Bastard Sword, +1 Studded Leather Armor, Blindfold
Skills: Knowledge (Local) +5, Knowledge (Nobility) +5, Perception +13, Sense Motive +9, Stealth +13, Swim +6
Opportune Parry & Riposte: At 1st level, when an
opponent makes a melee attack against the swashbuckler,
she can spend 1 panache point and can expend a use of an
attack of opportunity to attempt to parry that attack. The
swashbuckler makes an attack roll as if she were making
an attack of opportunity. If her attack roll is greater than
the roll of the attacking creature, the attack automatically
misses. For each size category the attacking creature is
larger than the swashbuckler, the swashbuckler takes
a –2 penalty on her attack roll. The swashbuckler must
declare the use of this ability after the creature’s attack is announced,
but before that attack roll is made. Immediately
after a swashbuckler performs a successful parry, as long
as she has 1 panache point she can make an attack as an
immediate action against the creature whose attack she
blocked, provided that creature is within her reach.
Blind Bump
Your con is really going to hurt because you are always flatfooted I would recommend a 2 level dip into urban barbarian for uncanny dodge. And more con, or at least toughness
Urban Barbarian wouldn't be a bad idea at all for this character. As for being flatfooted, that is exactly what the blind-fight feat is for in melee combat situations. However it is true that I am always losing my DEX bonus to AC if my opponents fight with ranged weaponry. Which is still a weakness for this character if a commoner can throws rocks at him from somewhere he cannot reach.
:( L5 is too low for cool item combos like blind man's fold / veiled eye. Sorry Chloe.
A problem you might run into is Precision damage is negated on a creature with Concealment IIRC. While the Heartseeker enhancement lets you ignore the miss chance, it doesn't say it removes concealment from the target so a GM going by strict RAW may not allow you to use your Precise Strike.
Even if it does, you are now pretty ineffective against a large number of creature categories ( aberrations, oozes, plants, outsiders with the elemental subtype though these already screwed you, and any misc. creatures with no heartbeat...including most Undead, I would assume).
I agree Sarrah, tis a shame. The Blind Swordsman would just have to be careful until L11 when he picks up Improved Blind-Fight. If he manages to pull through to L15 he can pick up Greater Blind-Fight to almost entirely remove the threat of ranged attackers.
I am aware Rynjiin. The best I could find to remedy that problem with Heartseeker was to use the Equipment Trick "Find the Hidden" to help turn that weakness into a strength. As for Precise Strike, I haven't bothered with it as I have found I needed my Panache Points for Opportune Parry & Riposte. I have been contemplating on taking the Extra Grit twice to remedy having a low Panache pool seeing as how the playtest stated that Grit and Panache points were interchangeable and could be combined to make a larger pool.
However the events left him mentally scarred as he wanted to forget what the atrocities that he saw had happened, things that haunted him in his dreams. So he practiced being blind so the images would slowly erode away until he could barely see them. To be expected it was difficult in the first few months to practice being blind, until he could walk at a normal pace and become more aware of his surroundings while blind-folded. Before leaving his home at age 11, he buried each of the townsfolk to give them a proper burial, task that took him three days and three nights straight. He took his father's bastard sword, certainly to large for someone of his size, but the only reminder of his family he could find amongst the pillaged ruins.
Thirteen winters passed and he grew and grew to be 24 winters old. News and stories spread like wildfire of a blind swordsman who wandered across the countryside of Golarion. He doesn't mind not being able to see the beauty of the world as long as he never has to bear witness again to the atrocities that shaped his childhood. He is very merciful and his victims will find they were sparred, some call him a wandering saint for his benevolence. However it is because he fights against becoming what the raiders were that he views as his "personal demons". These "personal demons" of his that urge him at times to kill others to ultimately keep peace and that not killing others is only to delay that peace and prolong the suffering of others. He is aware of the phrase "Stare into the abyss and it will stare back" where it will slowly mutate him mentally into becoming a monster if he gives in to his "personal demons".
Precise Strike is an always-on ability (as long as you have 1 Panache, which you'll want even if you're using it since half your class needs it), though. The Panache use is only to double the damage on a single hit. It's quite a significant boost, and is supposed to be the main damage booster for the Swashbuckler, to help it keep up with the Fighter, Ranger, and so on.
That said:
-Taking Extra Grit once is a good option. It gives diminishing returns after the first time you take it, really. Just boost your Cha through headbands and whatnot.
-Your damage output is going to be utterly terrible with only a 14 Str and no Power Attack. If you're insistent on using a Bastard Sword and not a Finesseable weapon, and don't want to be a Strengthbuckler, I suggest speccing into a Combat Maneuver so you actually have something to contribute in combat. You're already fighting an uphill battle by being blind, you want to make sure that when you DO hit something it actually helps instead of dealing a piddling 1d10+4 or so damage.
This point is moot if your GM treats negating the miss chance as effectively getting rid of concealment (I'd probably rule it that way myself).
-At higher levels, if you want the same feel but somewhat higher effectiveness, you may want to snag a Swordmaster's Blindfold, and be a more supernatural blind fighter.
Answering in reverse order.
I will get back to you on swordmaster's blindfold when I can get 80k in gold.
A combat maneuver could be good, perhaps a small dip into Monk for the Maneuver Master archetype.
I was thinking about power attack. I could easily snatch it and furious focus up at 8 and 9 respectively. 7 for Extra Grit. I guess for Extra Grit I can do like you said by taking it once and then taking something like a headband of charisma +2 or +4.
As much as I would enjoy having double damage from Precise Strike, that would require sight and that means the Blind Swordsman concept becomes invalid in favor of more damage. If the ACG came out with Swashbuckler having an archetype that made playing a blind swordsman that much easier I would certainly go for it myself.
I would personally myself hope for a Swashbuckler equivalent of Signature Deed feat so it is "as long as you have have 1 panache point" to Parry & Riposte all day.
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So far, thank you guys for the advice. It is greatly helping me mold my blind swordsman better and is very much appreciated.
Take a 2-Level dip in Barbarian (Urban Rager) for the flexible +4 morale bonus to STR/DEX/or CON.
Take a 2-level dip into Monk (Maneuver Master) for a combat maneuver like Disarm to be more useful to the party.
Buy a headband of Charisma +2 or +4.
Take the Power Attack, Furious Focus, and Extra Grit feats.
Tremor Boots are 10k and give you Tremorsense out to 30 feet.
Tremorsense is always nice to have. I will defiantly try to make room for them. Just looked at them, sadly 20 feet, but that is still very good for only 10k.
The Bottle of Eversmoking seems like a nice trick to use. Though I do agree the smoke might prove troublesome to the rest of the party.
EDIT: Well I am off to bed to catch a few winks. You all have a good one. :)
That is funny TriOmegaZero. That is pretty much the same as what my DM said. :)
I do agree Drachasor, though I haven't really made a complaint to my DM about being blind.
Level 5 Male Half-Elf Swashbuckler [Blind Swordsman]
Level 5 Female Dwarf Bard (Dervish of Dawn) ["Spinning Top"]
Level 5 Female Human Fighter (Cad) [Toreador aka Bull Fighter]
() = Archetype
[] = Concept